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About the Year of Light

The International Year of Light is a global initiative which will highlight to the citizens of the world the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives, for their futures, and for the development of society. It is a unique opportunity to inspire, educate, and connect on a global scale.

IYL 2015 Images

Blueline Snapper Andaman Sea, Thailand

This spectacularly colorful school of fish contains blueline snappers, a species native to certain parts of the Indian Ocean. The fish themselves do not possess the color we see in this image. Rather, the color is in the light that shines onto them from the Sun above. The atoms and molecules in the fish—as in every object— absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect others. We do not see that particular slice of color corresponding to wavelengths of light that are absorbed. Instead, it is the wavelengths and their respective colors that reflect back to us that allow us to see the dramatic appearance of these fish.
Image Credit:
Georgette Douwma/Science Photo Library
view and download image here.

22-Degree Halo Broken, Harz (Germany)

When sunlight passes through ice crystals in cirrus clouds in the Earth's atmosphere, the refraction of sunlight by the ice crystals can create an optical phenomenon known as a 22-degree halo. Most of the halos appear as bright white rings, but sometimes the ice crystals act as tiny prisms and the halo will be tinged with various colors. The 22-degree halo happens most frequently around the Sun, but can also occur with the Moon (which is also called the "Moon ring" or "winter halo.)
Image Credit:
Lars0001/Wikimedia Commons
view and download image here.

Lake Reflections Tso Moriri Lake, India

Most objects do not emit light. Rather, they reflect it from a source like a light bulb or sunlight. This common process allows us to see these things that are all around us. In fact, one of the fundamental laws of the physics of light involves reflection. Reflection consists of two rays: an incoming or 'incident' ray and an outgoing or 'reflected' ray. All reflected light obeys the rule that says the incident ray strikes a surface at the same angle that the reflected ray bounces away from it. In the case of a smooth surface like a mirror or, in the case of the photograph, the calm top of a lake, a clear identical image is produced.
Image Credit:
Prabhu B Dossview and download image here.

Flight Path Of Fireflies Outside Okayama city, Japan

When a living organism produces its own light, scientists call it "bioluminescence." Fireflies, also called lightning bugs, are some of the best-known examples of this process. Fireflies produce light when an organic compound in their abdomen, called luciferin, interacts with oxygen from the air. When this happens, light with a wavelength of between 510 and 670 nanometers—the color of pale yellow to reddish green—is generated. The special cells that hold the luciferin also contain uric acid crystals that help reflect the light away from the fireflies, making them even brighter for other fireflies and humans to admire.
Image Credit:
Tsuneaki Hiramatuview and download image here.

Levisticum

If you come across levisticum in a garden, you will find a tall plant with dark green leaves and greenish-yellow flowers. Under a microscope, however, it looks much different. Here polarized light is used to bring out the details of this plant on the microscopic level. Polarization is used for many things, including sunglasses. This type of sunglasses blocks most light oriented in a horizontal direction (which often happens when light is reflected from a flat road or smooth water). Under a microscope, polarized light can help us see more by bringing out the contrast between structures and other details otherwise difficult to see in unpolarized light.
Image Credit:
Marek Mísview and download image here.

This website was developed by Lightsources.org, a collaboration between communicators from light source facilities around the world.

IYL2015 is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health.